John: Before Annas ([xviii, 13–23]).
The Synoptics state that he was examined and tried before Caiaphas.
294
Repeat [John xviii, 24].
“Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest” (Old Ver.).
“Annas therefore sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest” (New Ver.).
This verse follows the account of Jesus’ preliminary examination and shows clearly that this examination took place before Annas, and that he was not sent to Caiaphas until its conclusion. The King James translators, in order to hide the discrepancy, prefixed the word “now” and changed the tense of the verb, substituting “had sent” for “sent,” so that it might appear that Annas had sent him to Caiaphas before the examination commenced.
Concerning this corruption of the text, Scott says: “There is no conjunction ‘now,’ and an aorist cannot mark a definite time. If a hiatus is suspected, it may be indicated by an asterisk; but to insert words and alter the force of a tense in order to get over a grave historical difficulty is sheer dishonesty” (Life of Jesus, p. 289, note).